Justin Verlander will pitch Saturday night for Sugar Land. Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images.
Houston right-hander Justin Verlander is set for a rehab start with Triple-A Sugar Land, the next step in his return from neck stiffness that has sidelined the three-time Cy Young Award winner for two months.
Verlander will pitch in the Houston suburb on Saturday night, three days after his latest bullpen session for the Astros. The 41-year-old has said he will need two rehab starts before rejoining the Astros.
Verlander hasn't pitched since June 9. He missed the beginning of the season with right shoulder inflammation before going 3-2 with a 3.95 ERA in 10 starts. He made his season debut April 19.
A two-time World Series champion with the Astros, Verlander left for the New York Mets in free agency before the 2023 season. He was traded back to Houston in August last year.
Verlander is the active major league leader in wins (260) and is second to Max Scherzer, another three-time Cy Young winner, in strikeouts. Scherzer has 3,404 to 3,393 for Verlander.
Sugar Land is planning to give away Verlander bobbleheads to the first 2,000 fans Saturday night.
Dylan Cease pitched brilliantly into the ninth inning and Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Donovan Solano hit consecutive homers in the eighth for the San Diego Padres, who beat the AL West-leading Houston Astros 4-0 on Wednesday.
Machado homered twice for the Padres, who won two of three against the Astros and stayed two games ahead of Arizona for the first NL wild card. The Astros came in with a five-game division lead over Seattle.
Cease (14-11), who threw his first career no-hitter on July 25 at Washington, took a one-hitter into the ninth before Mauricio Dubón beat out an infield single to shortstop. Cease struck out Jake Meyers but then shortstop Xander Bogaerts booted Jose Altuve's grounder for an error that allowed Dubón to take third, and that was it for the right-hander after 103 pitches.
Cease retired the first 15 Astros batters before allowing a single to right field by Jason Heyward to open the sixth. Cease then retired the side.
Cease struck out five and walked none. Tanner Scott got two outs for his 21st save.
Machado, who has 29 homers, lined a shot to left-center off Framber Valdez opening the sixth.
Tatis, who struck out in his first three at-bats, hit reliever Kaleb Ort's first pitch into the first row in left-center leading off the eighth. It was his 19th. Machado followed with a shot deep into the seats in left and Solano hit a liner to left, his seventh. That was it for Ort, who threw just nine pitches.
Valdez (14-7) went seven innings, allowing one run and five hits while striking out six and walking two.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Padres: 1B/DH Luis Arraez got the day off to rest his sore left knee, which he jammed into home plate while being thrown out on Monday night. Arraez started at DH on Tuesday night.
UP NEXT
Astros: LHP Yusei Kikuchi (9-9, 4.29 ERA) is scheduled to start Thursday night in the opener of a four-game home series against the Los Angeles Angels, who will go with LHP José Suarez (1-2, 6.80).
Padres: Hadn't announced their starter for Friday night's home series opener against the Chicago White Sox.
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